7 July 2013 (Dubai, United Arab Emirates): Moorfields Eye Hospital Dubai, the first overseas branch of the world renowned Moorfields Eye Hospital in London, has announced the appointment of its latest specialist consultant to its growing team of medical specialists based permanently in Dubai. Dr Darakhshanda Khurram is a Consultant Paediatric Ophthalmologist with a specialist interest in paediatric cataract congenital eye disease  and squint (strabismus) surgery. Dr Khurram joins the hospital as Moorfields continues to increase its medical staff and strengthen its range of specialities, serving patients in the UAE and wider region, after operating in the Middle East for more than five years.
Dr Darakhshanda Khurram trained at Great Ormond Street Hospital and Moorfields Eye Hospital, in London, as a general ophthalmologist with a highly advanced sub-specialist interest in Paediatric Ophthalmology. Dr Khurram’s areas of expertise are the clinical and surgical management of congenital cataracts, congenital glaucoma and strabismus surgery (including the use of botulinum toxin ). She is very experienced in the screening and management of Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP – a disease of the eye effecting prematurely born babies). She has advanced diagnostic skills in paediatric ophthalmology including congenital eye abnormalities and inherited diseases.
After studying medicine at the Rawalpindi Medical College, Pakistan, Dr Khurram completed a four-year ophthalmology residency programme leading to her post-graduate fellowship from the Royal College of Surgeons in Glasgow, UK. She trained and worked as an Assistant Professor at the Al-Shifa Eye Hospital in Pakistan, providing specialised paediatric ophthalmology services.
She completed her advanced fellowship training in Paediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus at the two world renowned hospitals – Great Ormond Street Hospital and Moorfields Eye Hospital, in London, UK, where she worked with some of the most prominent Paediatric Ophthalmologists and built on her previous substantial experience to gain an in depth  and comprehensive knowledge of rare and challenging paediatric ophthalmic conditions as well as experience in the most modern surgical and clinical procedures.
Dr. Khurram has been an active researcher and has a strong record of peer reviewed publications in clinical research and audit. She has also presented at international conferences, including the American Association of Paediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus, World Congress of Paediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus, and World Ophthalmology Congress.
Commenting on the latest consultant appointment, Dr Clare Roberts, Medical Director at Moorfields Eye Hospital Dubai and herself a paediatric ophthalmologist, said: “We are delighted to welcome Dr Khurram to our growing team of specialists in Dubai and she brings with her outstanding qualifications and experience. Many of our consultants, like Dr Khurram, trained at Moorfields in London, and all are based permanently in the UAE to ensure a consistently high quality of continuity if patient care and follow up. We continue to see a growing number of children at the hospital and so her specialist skills in this area will be of particular value and we plan to appoint further specialists through the course of 2013.”
Moorfields Eye Hospital Dubai opened in 2007 and has since treated more than 26,000 patients.